U9 MINOR NOVICE GUIDE TO SUCCESS For Coaches

U9 MINOR NOVICE GUIDE TO SUCCESS For Coaches GENERAL OBJECTIVES To develop fundamental Ringette skills in a fun, participation-based environment To continue to develop physical and motor capacities To develop general physical fitness To introduce the development of mental skills To introduce and develop simple tactics To introduce game play with focus on application of skills learned in training To introduce and develop decision-making skills in controlled conditions To encourage players to strive to succeed and do their best COMPLIANCE INFORMATION FOR U9 MINOR NOVICE Focus on FUN! 70% Development, 30% Competition Team Activity Logs must be maintained and submitted to the Regional Sport Development Coordinator by April 30 th Teams are selected vertically using the Skills Matrix Team Composite Scores will be recorded on each team s TRF Athletes are evaluated using the Skills Matrix by October 20 th and again by February 28 th Introduction of game-play Scores may be kept Positional play is introduced (including goaltenders) all athletes must rotate through all positions consistently Qualified officials on the ice for competitions A maximum of 4 events per year, including any year-end event standard ORA sanctioned event rules apply WHAT SKILLS DO WE FOCUS ON AT U9? Skating Skills: Basic stance, falling and getting up, edges, balance on skates, starts, stops, forward/backward stride and glide Basic Ring Skills: Basic skills, grip, carrying and protecting the ring, passing, receiving and retrieving the ring, checking, shooting all within a controlled environment Introduce Goalkeeping Skills: Introduce concept and rotate position to all players, basic grip, stance, stick on ice, skating and ring skills, mobility and stick work, positioning, and ring distribution

Offensive Tactical Skills Acquisition of basic offensive skills and tactics, individual 1-on-1 and team offensive skills, individual skills for ring carriers and non-ring carriers, basic team tactics, creating open space and movement Defensive Tactical Skills Acquisition of basic defensive skills and tactics, individual 1-on-1 skills, maintain goal side positioning, introduce basic team tactics STARTING THE SEASON Select a volunteer from your team s parents to complete the Team Activity Log throughout the season Work with your Association representative to identify objectives for your team to work towards throughout the season PLANNING PRACTICES PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!! The most important thing you can do as a coach is to have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish set out objectives for your season and for each practice Make sure you plan out your practice before you arrive at the arena! Practice plans should be developed with your long-term and short-term objectives in mind as determined in conjunction with your Association representative Make sure to always have enough coaches on the ice to properly execute your practice plan, otherwise it may need to be altered Nutrition after a practice Have chocolate milk Consider having a small snack available to the athletes after every ice time (granola bar, orange, raisins, etc.) to bring their energy levels back up Often these athletes are on the ice before they have a chance to go home and grab a snack or meal after school RESOURCES Sample resources Ringette Canada website www.ringette.ca Be sure to register on the Ringette Canada Coaches page to gain access to the available coaching tools and resources, which include demonstration videos and a set of sample Practice Plans for U9 Your CSI (Community Sport Initiation) coaching clinic materials The Ringette Canada Drill Manual (obtained at the CSI clinic or ask your Association for a copy) 2

The ORA website www.ontario-ringette.com (see Coaching Resources) ORA Drills for Skills document ORA Skills Video available from your Association Your Region s website may have helpful links Who can you go to for help in your Association/Region? Your Association should identify these individuals at the beginning of the season (this list should be distributed at the coaches meeting) Use your resources! Instructors don t have to be coaches (parent who is a skilled skater but can t commit to coach can lead a station at your practice make sure to adhere to your Association s volunteer screening policy) Use older athletes when you can! Be creative with the practice plans and drills you find ATHLETE VOLUNTEERS In your Association there should be a pool of athlete volunteers who have various areas of expertise (e.g. skating, shooting, passing, goaltending, etc.) This is a great way to involve athletes who don t have the time to commit to being a full-time coach Contact information for these athletes should be distributed to coaches at the start of the season and athletes can be contacted to come out to practices for any team who can use them Some of the athlete volunteers may be able to make the commitment to be at every on-ice session for your team Athlete volunteers should always be under the supervision of an adult coach Many of these athletes may be in high school and looking to complete their requisite Community Involvement volunteer hours, so may ask you to sign their volunteer hours sheets when they come out to help Use these athletes on-ice to: Assist with less-skilled players and to provide one-on-one instruction (one athlete volunteer could work with the same younger athlete all the time) Demonstrate and correct skills/drills Provide feedback to coaches/recommend drills Set up/clear up drills Encourage these volunteers to run drills on their own Ask them for suggestions and really listen to what they have to say Coaches should give feedback to these athlete volunteers to let them know how they are appreciated and how they could improve SKILL GROUPINGS ON YOUR TEAM Consider combining practices with another U9 team or a U8 or U10 team This gives you more coaches on the ice and allows for more specific groupings by skill ability e.g. 6 stations, 6 different groupings, each 3

group rotates through the stations, getting ability-specific instruction on the skills When you have just your own team on the ice: Put your strongest coach with your weakest players Divide into groups according to skill ability and number of instructors Rotate through stations RULES Ensure your athletes have a basic understanding of the rules, focusing on the blue line, crease, different zones, and tripping (be responsible for where their stick is) What are penalties? o Introduce the athletes to the concept so that they aren t surprised by it in a game situation o Consider putting the athletes in the box during a practice so they get a feel for it POSITIONAL PLAY In practice o Model the game o Rotations Each player practices each position (goalie, forward, centre and defence) o Keep them moving at game speed Dividing players into stations and using the full ice will keep the practice/players moving o For goalies Work on angles and positioning Getting down and up quickly Goalie rings (pick 5 points on the ice for the goalie to aim at) o Break-out Try a Bench-side break-out where no matter which end you re at the goalie always distributes the ring to bench side (teach only one strategy to start with at this age have them do the same one every time V pattern centre: heads toward the Ringette line, then angles toward the bench over the blue line last to leave position Slow C defence: D1 (on bench side) curls around bottom of the circle and goes up the boards toward the bench. D2 goes behind the net and follows the path of D1 Flood bench-side forwards: one goes toward the bench side at centre line and the other goes up centre ice 4

o Transitions Space and Time Everyone should skate through the pattern for each position so that each player knows what they would need to do in a breakout in a game, no matter which position they happened to be playing in that game People without a ring o Encourage players to be moving in search of open ice People with a ring o Pass to an open area o Ride the line to buy time Come up with a play for transitioning out of and into zones o Keep it simple it should always look the same every time you do it At games o Consider rotating the athletes through the positions with each playing the same position for two consecutive games o For offensive players: Focus on: Spatial separation Position on the ice without the ring Transitions Changing on the fly Forward static attack plays o For defensive players Focus on: Zone coverage Stationary triangle Break out Transitions By mid-january, you should be starting to see what each player s natural position is start to focus their training to improve the skills necessary to excel at those positions HOW DO I MAKE IT FUN? ON-ICE Fun Drills: Two teams, all of the rings start in the centre circle, each team has to bring the rings back to their own end, once centre rings are gone, each team tries to get the rings from the other team s end while being checked by the opposing team Keep-away (Buzzing Bees) Wonder Woman (Snow Queen) skate as fast as you can to the blue line then dive on your belly 5

Sharks and fishes Relay Races Any skill-challenging games (Who can score on the net from centre ice? Who can glide on one leg for the longest?) Ring in hand, Bus drivers, practices starts and stops Move pizza boxes by shooting rings at them Freeze tag, once tagged you must stop and wait for someone to touch you before you re allowed to move again Pick up the ring and throw it Put a net in the middle of the ice, have them skate around it with the ring and shoot into the net Hang a rubber chicken in the net can you hit it? Follow the leader along the lines like a dance everyone do what the player in front of you is doing Any modified game where every person has equal involvement (Ringette Canada Drill Manual has a lot of great ideas for this!) Consider bringing in alternative objects to play with (e.g. soccer balls, beach balls, rubber chickens, frisbees, etc.), but keep in mind that safety comes first Make sure to consider the age and ability level of your athletes before selecting a game to play Try starting your on-ice session with a fun activity to encourage slow dressers to move more quickly so that they don t miss out on the fun Communicate with your athletes about what their favourite parts of on-ice sessions are and include more of them if possible Make the last activity game-like (scrimmage) Consider a parent vs. players game (make sure that all involved have the proper equipment safety first!) HOW DO I MAKE IT FUN? OFF-ICE Swimming, bowling, holiday parties Halloween party to kick off the season Holiday party End-of-Season party Try out a different sport together (e.g. Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee, etc.) Sleepovers Team cheers, team mascot, off-ice attire Team twinning with an older team, each team watches some of the other s games, the older can teach Association cheers to the younger, etc. Not all off-ice activities need to cost money consider how you could use your local park for team-bonding activities Every time the team is together, try to do some social activity (could even be a 5 minute dance party, etc.) Recognize special events 6

Recognize each individual athlete during the season somehow At Tournaments Team Dinners Envelope on hotel room doors (each athlete writes a positive message to each of their teammates parents can help!) Develop a team cheer If there are older teams from your Association at the tournament, watch some of their games as a team Ensure that all of your team events include ALL of your team members HOW DO I BECOME A BETTER COACH? If you are sharing the ice for a practice, communicate with the coach of the other team before the practice to see how you can both benefit by working together Challenge your players (add technical aspects to each player s skills as they are ready) Define positions with drills - introduce all players to each position Introduce basic rules Approachability o Be available to your athletes and their parents Be a student of the game o Volunteer to go on the ice with other teams in your Association at different levels to strengthen your understanding of the game o Watch practices and games at other levels Adapt what you see to make it appropriate for your age level (including drills and games) Always have a designated goalie coach for your goaltenders (could be an athlete volunteer) Your yearly plan should be flexible Head Coach should be the first to arrive, last to leave Read and adhere to the Bench Staff Code of Conduct BE A ROLE MODEL Show respect to the Officials Show respect to the other team Make sure your behaviour sets the right example COACHES SHOULD MODEL USE OF RINGETTE EQUIPMENT Use a proper Ringette stick Wear approved gloves Model the use of an approved helmet 7

AT THE GAME Before the game go around the dressing room and have every athlete say what they think the Key to success will be for that game Head Coach should be visible on the bench so that the officials know who to talk to consider where you stand, don t stand up on the bench be where you can talk to the athletes easily Coaches on the door need to train themselves to focus on the door and the line changes, not the game Coach the team, not your child (try to make sure that parents aren t on the same door as their child) Success comes in CANS not CAN TS! What is your body language like on the bench? o Avoid an Alpha impression Keep your post-game talk to a 5 minute maximum FAIR ICE POLICY Every athlete should be playing every position an equal amount of time Please adhere to the ORA Fair Ice Policy for playing time expectations COMMUNICATION Language should always be positive and terminology should match the terminology in the Ringette Canada Drill Manual Observe, Correct, Encourage Intonation o Keep your tone upbeat Make sure that all of the coaches are on the same page about what is being communicated to the athletes During practices, Head Coach should be facilitating the entire practice if there are stations, the Head Coach should be circulating to ensure that each one is running smoothly Never overload your athletes give them bite-sized bits of information that they can focus on in order to improve always end on a positive note With parents o Have a meeting with all of the parents at the start, middle, and end of the season, and any additional meetings you deem necessary This should ensure that all the adults understand how the season will run o When a parent is upset, instate the 24-hour Rule This will allow both the parent and you as the coach to discuss the situation more calmly and productively Do not discuss an athlete s performance with any parent other than their own 8

CHANGE ROOMS Etiquette o Establish how athletes should treat each other in the change room o Two bench staff in the change room at all times o Develop a skate-tying and change room policy with your Association representative before the season starts that includes where and when parents can tie skates, who is allowed to enter the change room and at what times Proximity o Always be close to where your athletes are if they are in the change room, be outside the door; if they are warming up somewhere, be where they are o Be aware of what your athletes are up to i.e. that interaction is positive and activities are appropriate o Safety first! OFF-ICE TEAM WEAR Coaches should wear it too - get in the spirit!! CAPTAINS Instead of assigning captains, rotate captains allow every athlete equal opportunity to take on this leadership position 9